In the position I'm in I really just can't give up the paychecks. Even if I take 1 or 2 classes a quarter I would rather get my degree slowly than put myself in a financial struggle.

I understand your desire to avoid financial struggle. College costs have gotten absolutely ridiculous. But, what sets engineers apart from others is the sucking down of Ramon noodles while studying in dilapidated apartments or moldy basement laboratories until 2am for 4-5 years in order to earn $60-70k+/yr base salaries. The sacrifice and dedication to complete the program is just as valuable to me as the education itself.

I didn't catch whether or not you're taking out loans to assist with costs. I would seriously consider stepping down your current responsibilities and find a balance between working part time and using student loans to cover the difference. When I earned my degree, I used loans for tuition and housing, and worked part time to fund books, food, and pleasure. You will pay the loans for 10-20 years, but these will be the only loans you will ever be offered where you both choose your payment plan AND deduct from you tax liabilities. For some majors, $40-80k in debt is just stupid, but for engineers it is definitely worth running some numbers.

As good2go stated, if you're still doing calc and will be starting statics soon you really haven't even started your engineering specific schooling. The good news is that if you're bored, your classes will likely become more interesting as you progress. The bad news is that if you're currently struggling with the difficulty, it's only going to get much, much more difficult.

I'll also echo Enginerd that you should really consider ratcheting down on outside work and focus on going to school full time. In the long run, it's worth taking on some debt to get the degree done. Consider this, if you get your degree done slowly, say over eight years instead of four, you're missing out on four years of higher income. The delta between what you'd earn as an engineer during those four years and what you're likely earning now would almost assuredly more than cover the debt you'll need to take on in order to go to school full time (depending of course on where you're going to school, what degree you get, ect).

Not to mention that currently you've got another job and other responsibilities that are sapping your attention and likely your motivation.

Drop the job and go full time in school and I bet your motivation increases too. If you're looking at 4 or 5 (or even more) more years of one class here and there, there's no wonder your motivation is low. If you can do 2 years full time and finish it up, the light at the end of the tunnel can really help motivate.

The whole cutting back on work thing isnt something I'm going to consider until I transfer to a university probably in the next 2 years depending on how many more classes I want to finish/pay a way lower price for. The CC I'm attending offers a LOT of engineering classes that are all transferable.

I will definitely take a loan out then and chop a day off my work schedule. How many hours did you guys work while going to school? I'm at 35 hours currently, 2 classes is definitely manageable, though slightly excruciating. I honestly believe my issue is less the amount of hours I work and more what I choose to do in my spare time.

tl;dr i need to get my *** in gear and manage my time/activities better

The whole cutting back on work thing isnt something I'm going to consider until I transfer to a university probably in the next 2 years depending on how many more classes I want to finish/pay a way lower price for. The CC I'm attending offers a LOT of engineering classes that are all transferable.

I will definitely take a loan out then and chop a day off my work schedule. How many hours did you guys work while going to school? I'm at 35 hours currently, 2 classes is definitely manageable, though slightly excruciating. I honestly believe my issue is less the amount of hours I work and more what I choose to do in my spare time.

tl;dr i need to get my *** in gear and manage my time/activities better

I never worked less than 35 hours a week while getting my undergrad or masters. I graduated with no debt and a job with the #1 company in my field. It is definitely possible but you have to be willing to give it everything you've got.

I never worked less than 35 hours a week while getting my undergrad or masters. I graduated with no debt and a job with the #1 company in my field. It is definitely possible but you have to be willing to give it everything you've got.

I did the same but was married all through school and wife ended up with some loans that we are aggressively paying off now. Loans aren't a bad idea, just be conservative with them. Be ever mindful of how much the monthly payments will be at the end and balance that out with what you're doing now. Several friends that we graduated with are currently drowning because they never really considered how much the loans would actually cost, just kept taking them out and living off of them because they didn't have enough "time".

School was sucky at times, one semester I took 23 credits while working 30ish hours a week, it was quite crappy but I came out of the experience really valuing time and with a better understanding of what my own personal productivity could actually be. Like SixShooter said, there are lots of things in life that will divide up your time, don't forget to be charitable and focus on the things that really matter.

My favorite is the automatic miatas on craigslist going for 2-3K more than a standard, because auto's are SUPER RARE!

There's a busted to hell and back miata on my local CL, been there for over 6 months. Idiot seller keeps reposting it in 6 cities. Rusted quarters, rockers, curbed rims, blown IAC valve, so it doesn't even run right, a hardtop that is cracked, with dog-chewed seals, broken glass, and a short nose 1.6, just to top it all off... Hundreds of thousands of miles, too.